Engine block drain cock for coolant change

[kenn]

Update time!

I decided to use a combination of several suggestions on here -- especially smoke's. I couldn't get anything in there to break the wings off easily and my mini bolt cutters are too wide when open so I used some channel locks and I bent the wings up and squished the body of the drain cock until a 9/16 would fit over it. I had to put an extension on it and "encourage" it just a little with a hammer to seat all the way but it was just mild taps. Once on I was able to remove the drain cock easily.

The drain cock is as smoke said. Tighten it in and it is open. Loosen it until it stops and you have closed it. It didn't matter, lol, as the clog wasn't in the drain cock... It was in the elbow and the engine block...

I removed the 90 degree fitting and it is litterally caked with what looks like dry, oiled dirt. In the engine block hole I could see the same thing. I started with a flat blade screwdriver to clean as much as I could from the opening and then moved on to a pick with a slightly angled tip. I managed to get most of the crud out of the hole about 5" back from the block until I hit an obvious bend. I then cut a piece of 12 gauge solid copper wire and removed the plastic insulation about 6" back and bent the tip slightly. I managed to get that wire into the block about 8" and the deeper I went the more moist the crud was. After 15 minutes of scraping, I got a trickle of coolant...

Last step, pressurized air with a rubber tip and bam. I hit a gusher. The block emptied and I managed to catch about 90%. I'm off to Napa to get a new drain cock and some more carb cleaner and I'll flush it now that I have almost all of the old, brown, toxic antifreeze out. Pictures for the enquiring minds.

 

[kenn]

ToddJK - I am assuming this is the port you were referring to on the water pump as your "drain". I am thinking I will use this instead of the cocks on the first flush so that I don't plug them right back up again... If this is open and I have a hose running into the top of the radiator, will it work to get most of the dirty flushwater out?

 

[kenn]

Next update. After fully draining block, I reinstalled the hardware and put everything back on... temp sender, air filter, oil sending unit, etc. Oil sending unit issue, lol. I'll look at the TM and post in my other thread. I filled it with water only (no flushes) from the hose and ran it for a bit and it won't go over about 165 on the temp gauge. I filled and drained it using the radiator drain cock only as it is TOO HOT to work on the back of the block. I'm going to let it cool and open that one. Could it be the thermostat is stuck open for it to hold at 165ish or so on the temp gauge or do I need to block off the radiator to get it to 180ish? It is 100 degrees outside and I'm working in the sun so it's not cold, lol. Sender and gauge are both brand new. The first flush was nasty dark. Second quite a bit better. Third clearer yet but I'm not sure how much is making its way back through the block at 165. I am using the throttle cable to hold it about about 1500-1600 rpms. Not enough? Also, I've heard a "pop" a couple of times when draining/filling that sounded like it might be coming from the thermostat area so maybe it's functioning...

 

[gimpyrobb]

Run some Cascade dishwashing detergent through the block. Fill it up with tap water and cascade, drive for a bit and drain. You'll be surprised at what comes out.

 

[kenn]

Run some Cascade dishwashing detergent through the block. Fill it up with tap water and cascade, drive for a bit and drain. You'll be surprised at what comes out.

That's the plan in the morning. Amazon sent the wrong stuff so I'll have to return it anyway and just go with what so many on here have suggested. I now have both drain cocks flowing prodigiously so once I'm done with the cascade flush, I'll rinse it out well with plain water, and I can get almost everything out of the system after that, put my 4 gallons of pure green zerex and 4ish gallons of distilled to follow.

So sparkly now coming out of the rear drain cock. It's mesmerizing.

 

[GopherHill]

Good job. You should be good to go.

 

[kenn]

I decided to just use the throttle cable to idle it a little high to move the cascade through the system. I got it up to about 1500 rpms and had to cover the radiator completely to get the temp up to the 190s. I left the radiator cap off to monitor the water level and once I hit about 180 it pushed a small bit of water back but settled quickly. I let it run for about 1/2 hour with the flush in it and temps in the 190s and then drained. There wasn't really any more "crud" and the water was lightly tanned in color. That said, I had run clean water through several times and flushed completely so I don't think there was that much left. I flushed with just enough distilled and let it run out a bit from both the radiator and the engine block drain cocks then closed them both. In with 4 gallons of original green zerex and topped off with distilled. I'll have to drive it around a bit and check the level.

I used an IR gun to measure the front and rear of the water jacket as well as on each side of the thermostat. Temps were no more than +- 5 degrees difference anywhere I measured so there aren't any weird hot pockets. I noted that the IR gun was reading about 7-10 degrees hotter than the temp gauge so I know now that I can trust what that gauge says.

As I've mentioned in other threads, every time I fix one thing, I find 2 more issues. Unburned/partially burned fuel is oozing out around where the turbo is connected to the exhaust manifold under a long, heavy idle which I know is pretty normal. Once cooled down, I felt in there and one of the bolts is missing... aaargh! Another thread...

 

[smoke]

Nice to hear that it worked for you. Everything turned out great. Keep us post on your adventure.

 

[ToddJK]

ToddJK - I am assuming this is the port you were referring to on the water pump as your "drain". I am thinking I will use this instead of the cocks on the first flush so that I don't plug them right back up again... If this is open and I have a hose running into the top of the radiator, will it work to get most of the dirty flushwater out?

I use the rear block drain cock if I can. Otherwise I pop the radiator hose off the bottom at the block and drain everything. I'll bend the lower hose to some what plug it but not fully. Otherwise I put a garden hose in the radiator fill cap and flush it. I do that so any crud, chunks or sediments can flow on out the block and also not into the radiator. The radiator is probably the most difficult thing to properly clean while it's installed. Any sediments at the bottom is difficult to wash out, though soaps/cleaners usually help, but you want that to flow out the bottom.
As for the temperature, the deuce and how the motor and coolant system is set up, it's a very effective cooling system. At idle, my gauge will say around 165-170 no matter how hot or cold it is out side when it's at normal operating temperature. It doesn't go up until I start to drive, then it will get up to 180-185. Anytime it has went over 200, something was wrong. First time, I noticed that, it kept going up, so I pulled over and it was almost up to 220. Shut it down, looked, both my alternator belts broke. Second time this happened, I had a brake sticking and a fire going on over on the exhaust side of the engine.
Just as a word of caution, anytime that gauge goes up past normal, especially 210 degrees, I would shut it down and inspect what you can. While a little over heating isn't harmful for the motor (short term) such as the metal components, it's a sure way to ruin your head gaskets. I'll drive without an oil pressure, speedo, ect, but not without that temp gauge. For me, the temp gauge is a correlation to how much stress I'm putting on that motor. I failed to follow that with my old deuce and I blew a head gasket and melted a piston. I'm doing that with mine now, she's still running well with no issues.